


Upon Reflection

by Crystal_Keeper



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, M/M, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26842249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystal_Keeper/pseuds/Crystal_Keeper
Summary: Miranda Haart; Warrior of light, Scion of the Seventh Dawn, protector of the first and Master of the Forbidden Chakra, has learned more about herself in the past months than she has ever known. After the fight with Vaulthry at Mt.Gulg, she began to see things, memories that she didn't know she had. saw things that forced her to question who she truly was. Join Miranda, and friends, as she learns about herself, and comes to terms with her loss, and gaining of those she thought she had lost.This fiction will contain spoilers for 5.0 - 5.3 - Shadowbringers, if you have not played/completed it, then do not read.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Before you go any further, I’d like to start off by saying this work has a lot of original characters, some of which belong to me, and others which belong to my friends that I have known for a number of years. I will be explaining a little bit about them, and providing an image or two of them, to give reference to them, and also explain a little bit about the few main characters you will be seeing. 
> 
> This story has been in the works for a while, and i’ve loved writing it so far, I find it comforting that I’ve got a platform to write it on, and any feedback you may have for me, will be greatly appreciated. Now then, without further adieu, let me introduce you, to just a few of our star-studded line up. Remember, I do not claim ownership over all these characters, the only ones I do claim,are Miranda, and Caster, all others belong to my friends, who consent to me writing this fiction with them in it. Not all characters will be shown here at this moment, however when a new character is added to the story this page will be updated with their image, and a bit of a description, so keep checking back.
> 
> characters:
> 
> Miranda Haart;  
> Images;  
> The Red Queen; https://app.box.com/s/9be6rpuz5n4jtgxuuxl5mpusf3045174   
> Miranda normal;   
> https://app.box.com/s/lhg6zmkpp7ejzoncj8mwp01l3mhkwze3 
> 
> Miranda Haart, has a heart of gold. Known for her tenderness and love for her friends. Helping is in her nature, and this is why everyone around her gravitates towards the infectious personality. But there is another side to that coin, Miranda is missing so much from her life, that she doesn’t even know, she secretly worries that things are escaping her, and there is a time when she knows that something is going to catch up with her, and shatter her entire view on the world. But she doesn’t know what. 
> 
> Vulpec Astrum  
> Images;  
> https://app.box.com/s/pgdu77xq4zju5s5juecv51m7s03j0a1n  
> https://app.box.com/s/1zd8puknrujc93hb3jswgmptx0inrik4 
> 
> Vulpec Astrum, loving, loyal, guarding, defender of the ones he loves. Vulpec stands tall and powerful even when others can not. He is Miranda’s rock, and always has been, even when she lets slip her hardened facade, to show her true face. Vulpec has his own struggles, and on the side of being a battle hardened warrior, owns a small cafe, and has familial problems of his own, but willingly puts everything aside for Miranda. 
> 
> Caster Haart  
> Images;   
> https://app.box.com/s/y03hqgjf3efk29qpw2m6wny5dkusrtiq  
> https://app.box.com/s/hkxgmnsru03wqubogrdb0827iht8mr6p 
> 
> Son of the famous Warrior of Light, Miranda Haart, Caster has no recollection of his mother. And spent a lot of his childhood in an orphanage. Caster Craves attention, and loves to have all eyes on him, and sometimes not in the best of ways. However even under the childish guise he puts up, all he really wants is for people to see him for who he is, a boy that just wants to be loved, and love someone, or anyone back.

**_-I-_ **

**_The Red Queen_ **

Uldah was busy that morning. The cobbled streets radiated heat, as people milled about market stalls where merchants peddled their wares and tried their best to make what they assumed to be an honest living. Children played, screaming and laughing with joy and excitement, men and women of various races exchanged pleasantries with friends and others that they hadn’t seen in the longest of times, while a young Elezen boy ran through the Sapphire Exchange and spoke politely to an elderly Hyurr trinket seller, exchanging Gil for a bracelet with small glass beads of red, white, gold and blue. The city on days like this, truly felt alive. 

“Thank you!” the young Elezen boy beamed, eyes of deep green widening with excitement as he bowed slightly and began to run back the way he had come. Hitting something hard and bulky, the boy jerked backwards out of shock, losing his balance and falling onto his backside. Taking a moment to gather himself and shift the stars out of his eyes, the boy quickly looked up, letting his gaze fall on what he had hit.

“sorry about tha-” the boys words stopped dead in his throat, taking in the scene of a tall, broad shouldered Hyur male, appearing to be in his mid forties, tanned leathery skin adorned his features, with eyes of bright yellow, and a gouging scar leading from his cheek bone up into his receding hairline, where thin strands of whitening silver hair sat, short and slicked back. The man’s features curled as he smiled, shaking the boy to his core. The man lifted, what looked to be a rounded pistol to the sky, and shot; **_one, two, three_** loud resonating booms filled the air, the boys ears hissed as he saw more men, this time clad in black overalls and masks, they began to man handle shopkeepers and take what clearly didn’t belong to them. People began to scream, as the boy’s hearing came back to him, he looked up once again to the man standing over him, who clearly at this point, had no interest in him. A voice like gravel toned out as the man began to speak;

“Pick the place dry lads! I want every last trinket and Gil these people own.”

A woman. A Miqo’Te woman, strode through the streets towards the sound of gunshots. She walked with purpose, red dress with black leather catching the wind gently as she walked, her short, sun gold hair tipped with red absorbing as much of the morning warmth it could gather. She hummed a tune low in her throat, lips curving into a gentle smile as she walked, the  **_click clack_ ** of her heels hitting the cobbled ground beneath with what appeared to be interest. She would not rush, she would not run, her curiosity was piqued by the sounds coming from the markets. 

When she entered the Exchange, sharp orange-yellow eyes took in the commotion, men clad in black raiding shops, beating merchants, and taking belongings that she doubted they paid for. A thug had taken notice of her and had shouted noticing fine jewelry around her wrists and at her fingers. 

“Oi! Woman! Give me the jewels and no one gets hurt” the man sounded young beneath a black cloth balaclava and tinted goggles. The Woman looked at him quizzically as he approached, drawing a long sword from its holster on his side “you deaf! Rings! Bangles! Earrings you stupid bitch!” again the woman’s quizzical look remained, tilting her head, the sun catching gently tanned skin. She liked it. It was at this point a few other black clad men began to gather around her, swords drawn and daggers readied, but it wasn’t until the first man, the one that had threatened her stepped forward to take a swing, did she bother to move. With what appeared to be the grace of a ballerina, she bent her back slightly, taking not one, not two, but three steps in quick succession.  **one** backwards, stepping out of the way of the man’s swing,  **two;** a step sideways to stand beside the now confused and disorientated thug, and  **three** , a step forwards, with elegance. She smacked her left hand into the side of his head with her right, with her left, she grabbed his sword hand and flipped him, forcing him to drop the sword as he somersaulted to the ground, back first. She looked up curiously, seeing the other men coming forwards at once. Quickly and gracefully, The woman in red, twirling with hand movements faster than most eyes could see, she dispatched the thugs. She looked between them all, lying on the ground, groaning and clutching sides and stomachs where she had hit them. A high pitch scream alerted her next. An Elezen boy was screaming as a thug wrestled a trinket from his hand.

“No! That’s mine! You can’t have it!” the boy cried, his voice filled with pain, fear and sadness. The boy received a quick fist to the temple, he jerked and let go reluctantly. The boy lay on the ground, sobbing. 

A loud  **_boom_ ** ripped through the air, followed by a  **_scream_ ** no living creature could make, followed by a blinding flash of red, like a firework ripping a hole through time and space itself. The boy looked up, and saw the thug standing still above him, then he crumpled, and fell sideways to the ground, and there stood the woman in red, with a weapon so intriguing yet terrifying. A pistol, no, a revolver, with it’s barrel sawn off, and a long blade in its place. But the most terrifying thing about this “sword” wasn’t it’s odd barrel or blade, it was the fact that it was burning. Even from several feet away, he could feel the intense heat coming from it. It glowed like hot metal, a liquid heat. He looked at the man and shreaked, his back had been sliced like it was butter, but there was no blood, just a long, thin cut, that looked like it had burned straight through his skin and bone. The woman knelt before him hand out and a gentle smile on her face, when she spoke, her voice was like velvet, and it calmed him instantly; 

“It’s alright now, he won’t hurt you, what’s your name?”

“Xander” he replied with a choke, sobs still caught in the back of his throat, she smiled again helping him to his feet.

“Well Xander, I think it’s time you run along, this place is still not safe, and I’d dread to think of you being caught in harms way” she looked forward, at the man with silver hair and tanned leather skin who looked back in shock, and what appeared to be interest “run along now Xander, and don’t look back,” the boy ran, ran as fast as his little legs would carry him. While the woman watched him go, ensuring he was out of sight before she turned to see the man clapping his hands and laughing a very deep, almost sarcastic laugh.

“And what be you then?” the man’s gravely voice irked her, but she remained composed as she pressed a button, and a revolving mechanism on her sword pushed out of place. Pressing what appeared to be large cartridges into the still amber glowing heat of the chamber, the man spoke again. “No human could withstand the heat of whatever the hells that thing you're carrying is, I can feel it from here. So I ask again,  _ woman _ . What, be you?” with a jerk of her wrist, the chamber now holding several cartridge rounds clicked with a  **_hiss_ ** back into place. She looked up, eyes complacent when looking at the man, but her lips pursed before smiling and taking in a small breath.

“It matters not what I am.” a calm, almost intense sounding voice spoke as she eyed the man quickly. “But I am indeed a  _ woman, _ as you put it, and before you die I will be sure to say a prayer as you meet the god you worship” with that, the man blinked, and the woman was gone. He searched frantically for her, but found no sign. He whirled around and found her standing behind him,a smirk now adorning her face. it chilled him to the core.  **Heat** was all he felt, as the blade peeled through skin to embed itself in the man’s side. He screamed, a deep gravelly scream as it boiled at his blood, before she quickly dragged the blade backward, out of him. He crumpled like paper to the ground. Gazing up at her with blurry eyes. 

“Demon!” he said through agonisingly long gasps for air “you’re a Demon!” he declared as loud as his now failing voice would allow. She looked at him again. Deep amber-yellow eyes staring at him with no hatred, no concern for him,  _ nothing. _

“No,” she said simply stepping over him, raising the “sword high into the air, a finger itching at the trigger, a wickedly sickening smile at her lips “I’m the Red Queen” her sword arm bent, her back straightened, the man’s eyes went wide as he saw the embrace of death coming quick and fast. 

“Mandy?!” hesitation. She stopped dead. Her eyes flickered to a deep blue, before back to orange. She gritted her teeth uncharacteristically. “It is you, isn’t it?” the soft voice echoed behind her. A Miqo’Te male, with jet black hair, covering gentle pale eyes looked at her with amazement. He took in the sight of men, on the ground, the dead thug, the leader, at her feet, blade ready to end another life. “Miranda...what’s going on?” The question was loaded with accusation, as he arched into a tentative stance, the male’s long coat billowing in the wind. The woman, Miranda, he had called her, lowered the sword, and stepped over the man, watching as he scrambled to his feet and limped away. 

“No one has called me that, in a very  _ very _ long time” she chimed in an almost sing-song voice, but as she turned to face the man, her expression was hard, anger painted on her face. “What do you want Vulpec?” there was a silence between them, as the man, Vulpec, took a step towards her.

“Gods Mandy, where have you been? We were so worried when you just up and left!” it was at this point he noticed her eyes, bright amber-yellow, with flecks of orange. “What happened Mandy? What did it promise you? The darkness, what did it offer you?!” he demanded answers, his voice full of sadness, rage and disappointment. 

There was a silent tension, before she laughed, it was dark, hateful, and full of spite, but she laughed, hard, for minutes, one, two, three before she stopped, and looked at him with a sarcasm in her face, 

“Offered me? No, it didn’t offer me anything stupid boy! It gave me everything!” 

“What are you talking about!?” Vulpec’s voice was raised, anger coursing through him like waves. “The Miranda Haart I know would never sink as low as this! To let pure darkness take her!” she laughed again, wiping tears from her eyes 

“The Miranda haart you know, is dead '' she started raising the sword to Vulpec’s eye level, instinctively, he drew his own, a large, cold metal creation. It began to flicker with energy as it came alive with his own powers awaking within him. He, as Vulpec would call himself, was a Dark Knight. 

Their swords  **clashed, chimed, screamed, hissed and called to one another.** Each connection brought back refreshed memories, Vulpec was on the defensive, fending off Miranda’s relentless assault of blows until he saw the blonde woman raise her weapon up high, pull the trigger and slam it back down on him. He brought the sword up quickly, parrying the blade off to the side, and delivering a swift yet brutal kick to her stomach forcing her to the ground in a round of coughs. The sword in her hand fell to the ground a ways away with a loud  _ clang, _ leaving a burned imprint on the stone below. Miranda pulsed with anger as she jumped to her feet and struck out at Vulpec’s face, but moved slightly, elegantly;  **_one step backwards, one to the side and three, a step forwards._ ** He grabbed Miranda’s arm, kicked her again, this time in the back of the knees, and forced her to the ground, holding both her arms firmly behind her as she struggled. 

“Remember that move? It was  _ you _ that taught me how to anticipate moves, how to dance to the rhythm of others.” his voice was steady now, reassured he was winning by her frantic movements. The amber eyes of the woman held captive flickered to a light blue, and continued to do so as she screamed at him 

“You **_SAW_** what I saw! How the light enveloped that wretched beast Vaulthry! You **_WATCHED_** with me as the light enveloped so many people! I am better now! Stronger after embracing my true calling! I am the Red Queen! I am power!” tears welled at her eyes as she continued to fight uselessly against the stronger man’s grasp. He let her go, hugging her tightly, his sword quickly forgotten as he held her for comfort. 

“You, are Miranda Haart, master of the Forbidden Chakra and a Warrior of Light. You are a valued member of the Scion’s of the Seventh Dawn, and trusted compatriot of the best group of friends I have ever had! You are my best friend! Who I would very much like to have back!” by the end, he was choking back tears as he tightened his hug on her. If Miranda’s face wasn’t buried in the man’s shoulder, he would have noticed a bright flash of orange, before her eyes returned to a calm sapphire blue. Her eyes over flowed as she gripped the back of his coat, finally returning the hug 

“Vulpec...” she choked as sobs erupted from her “I’ve done such terrible things!” she cried heavily into the young man’s shoulder, before he produced a crystal from his pocket. “Let’s go home” he announced, a blue tinted light surrounding them, as she looked around remembering the familiar feeling of her home. She noticed the Elezen boy, Xander, watching her with a smile, as he waved at her, but before she could reply, they were gone. 

A few hours had passed, and Miranda had gotten stir crazy. She had managed to sneak past Vulpec, who was currently preparing tea in  _ her _ kitchen while his back was turned. It had been the first normal thing she had done since she came back to her senses. Blonde hair basked in the late afternoon sun from the house's back garden, in the distance she could hear the roaring tide of the sea, and the faint shout of seagulls as they searched for dinner. She had forgotten how calming this place was. She sat at the stone circle fireplace, eyes closed when she felt Vulpec’s hand on her shoulder. “Am I that boring?” he chimed, his familiar golden eyes shining sympathetically at the joke. She shook her head as he handed her a cup of green tea, her favourite ‘ _ so he did listen’  _ she thought as she sipped gently on it, Vulpec doing the same as they took in the late afternoon air. “What happened Miranda? One minute, you were there, basking in glory, the next you had gone, without a word or a trace,” he didn’t sound angry anymore, that emotion was replaced with worry. She took another sip of her tea, before taking a deep, shaking breath. 

“After our fight with Vaulthry, and the encounter with Graha’tia thereafter, something in me changed.” she closed her eyes letting out a strangled sob before continuing “I began to see memories, of people I did not know, or at least I could not remember.” she looked back out at the fading embers of day. Giving Vulpec a chance to digest. He nodded ready for her to continue. “After all the fighting was done, one memory stuck out more than others...” she trailed off. Tears falling fresh down her face, she was broken. “I had a son” she said in a voice of pure sadness. “Before ever I met any of you, the Scion’s, Harrigan’s Reach or Haven, before I had even been named a Warrior of Light, I had a little boy called Caster, and a husband who’s name I still to this day I cannot remember” Vulpec’s eyes grew sombre, sympathetic as he pulled the crying woman who had seen him through some of the toughest moments of his life, into a long embrace full of warmth and love. As she continued to sob and explain. “I went to our old house, where we had settled after Caster was born, and found toys...remains of a life I once had and had forgotten...I’m no wiser as to how I forgot them...or what happened to them...but in that moment, I was so weak, so filled with anger and rage, that I stopped being Miranda Haart, and became the Red Queen.” her story done, she let herself be weak, be undone for the first time in gods know how long. When she had recomposed herself she sat up straight and wiped her now reddened face and looked back at Vulpec, who looked like he had just been hit by a truck.

“Our mandy, a mother, well I’ll be damned” he smirked as he felt Miranda’s punch at his arm, hard and firm. He laughed gently and smiled kindly at her.

“You’re home now, and your friends, including myself, are not going anywhere, I think you’re stuck with us.” Miranda laughed gently and smiled, it was still sad, but it was there. “And as for your boy, Caster was it? He was one lucky little boy to have you, as his mother.” he stood and looked at her more seriously now, something was wrong, “but right now, the first needs us, and we need you” he held a hand to her, “once more into the fray old friend?” she sat there a moment longer, and finished the last of her tea, before taking his hand and standing. She clapped her knuckles together, and fire radiated across her fists. She looked out, at the vast eternal night sky, night sky of a place so familiar that she would do anything to defend. From Ul’dah to Norvrant, there was no place her hand wouldn’t defend.

“Once more, old friend” 


	2. Reunion

**-II-**

**Reunion**

They jogged the beaches of Shirogane daily. From their shared house in the subdivision, down to the cove, across the golden sand of the beach, to the little village to stop for morning tea. From there, they would do one of two things; one, they would race, from the village up the long steps, past the sea ward and back along the straight road to their home. Or two; they would walk gently, slowly along the golden sand beach, waving at their neighbours, shoes and socks off, letting the cold sea water gently lap at their feet. They would talk, laugh, joke, sometimes get emotional. Honestly, these were the best. Neither of these options happened today. 

It had been exactly three weeks since they had returned from the first, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, were taking some much needed R&R, and their company of friends had gone separate ways. Miranda Haart, with her golden yellow hair, and sapphire eyes, in her usual crimson running gear, sat back, relaxed in her chair, smiling as she sipped her tea. She heard the panicked heaving of breath from her friend, a black haired male Miqo’te, eyes golden yellow with freckles adorning his cheeks. Vulpec Astrum looked like he was about to die. He slumped down into the chair panting and groaning from exhaustion. Miranda had made him run another lap around the small village after he had made a joke that he was getting too used to this run, and it no longer tired him. Well...what she meant by one lap...was more like four...or six.

“Gods of Earth and Sky Miranda!” he wheezed through dazed breaths before fixing his bloodshot eyes on her with a look that meant he was either going to kill her, or kill himself first...again. 

“Well someone has to keep you in shape for all those beautiful boys when we go to those fabulous parties!” she said with grace, taking a sip of her tea, and sighing gently. 

“I have a love interest!” he continued to groan as he poured himself a cup of tea, “and what about you? When is the great and beautiful Miranda Haart going to settle down with a nice pretty boy?” he practically guzzled the tea, after any form of hydration, and the tea was practically tepid now. 

“When the sun sets green and the moon rises brown” she said without emotion, she cared not for the company of other men, nor women for that matter. Sure, she found plenty of men attractive and been around enough to know how to get what she wanted, but nothing kept her pinned, a Monk must be truly ready to fight for their cause, or so thought Miranda 

They sat there chatting for what seemed like hours. By 11:30AM, they could tell the shop-keep was getting more than a little peeved at the fact they hadn’t left yet, and decided that it was probably time to make their way home across the beach.

It was at this point, that she felt it. Well, to be more precise she had heard it coming before she felt it, so had Vulpec. _Crash, bang, boom...smash_. A disheveled brown haired male Miqo’te, with blue tips in his hair, came crashing through the stairs at the top of the village, down through the vegetable stalls, and barreling towards Miranda. 

“Make way, make way, MAKE WAAAY” the young voice shouted as he came tumbling over a ledge. Miranda finished the last drop of her tea and sighed, looking up towards Vulpec with a bored expression to which he provided a gentle smirk back; ‘ _this one’s all yours’_

_‘Three steps’_ she reminded herself, and the world stood still, almost like time had slowed with, and around her. 

**_One;_** a step to the left, with a gentle grace, and a powerful stance. 

**_Two;_** the movement of hands, as the boy came into her line of sight, one on the collar of his white silken shirt, the other on his belt. 

**_Three;_** a twist of the hips and the strength of an Ox, she flipped him over slamming him hard through the table in front of her, and down onto the cold concrete ground beneath. 

The boy, no older than eighteen, groaned and coughed, winded by the swift movement. 

“W-well isn’t this an interesting development...normally the ladies fall over me not the other way around...” he squeaked through winded breaths and a new chronic back pain. 

“Careful _boy_ , you’re lucky that my dear friend over here hasn’t put you through the ground. Those hands of hers are a Chiropractor’s best friend...” Vulpec chided, leaning over the boy to take a closer look at him, he seemed familiar,“...and my worst nightmare...” he muttered, earning him a cracked rib from Miranda. The boy's complexion was pale, maybe paler than it had been a few minutes ago, but pale nonetheless. His eyes a crystalline blue, and his face round, with the clear tribal marks that branded the Miqo’te face. 

“Apologies for the intrusion!” the teen stood stretching his poor, aching spine, he was going to have one hell of a bruise there tomorrow, “I’ll just be on my way the-” 

“-You, are going nowhere!” Miranda barked, with a raised eyebrow, twisting him uncomfortably through his pain to stare at the pure carnage he had left in his wake. She motioned to a couple different shops, the small cafe, who’s elderly Elezen owner was looking at the commotion startled and worried, then to a fruit and vegetable shop, where the boy had knocked over several baskets of Rolanberries, and other precious vegetables. Then finally to the people he had knocked over “you see _young man_ , YOU hurt these people, YOU destroyed those crops that were painstakingly harvested for a healthy living, and YOU broke my favourite table at old man Yukio’s cafe...you’re not going anywhere until you’ve-” she was cut off by a sudden pain in her skull and stumbled backwards, she looked at the teenager’s face, and the searing white hot pain intensified. She knew him, she _knew_ him... but how... _how_...

“Mandy?!” Vulpec was at her side in seconds, holding her steady as she almost crashed violently into the ground herself. “Mandy, what’s going on?!” Miranda held her head, the searing pain still present. The Boy, taking note of the situation, began to creep away “and where the depths of hell do you think you’re going?! What did you do to my friend?!” Vulpec sounded angry, he never sounded angry. 

“Well, you see _Old man_ , I have an engagement to get to! As for your friend, that one isn’t on me! Tell her thank you for breaking my fall....and the back pain! Buh-bye now!” there was energy in the young man’s tone as he quickly skipped his way in the opposite direction of them. Vulpec was about to pursue when he felt a hand on his shoulder, gripping tight. He was drawn back to Miranda, who he quickly sat down on the stone steps and knelt beside. 

“It’s him...” she said, her voice barely a whisper, “by gods...that’s _him_ ” she had tears in her eyes, as she looked up, the pain subsiding. She looked directly at her black haired friend, a sorrow sweeping over her she hadn’t felt in years. It was true that the two shared a striking resemblance. Vulpec had noticed when he’d first looked at the young man. His baby face, rounded cheeks, their noses curved in the same way, and those eyes; there was no mistaking the Sapphire blue that was Miranda’s eyes. This boy shared many features with her, but Vulpec had to be skeptical. 

“Mandy, are you trying to tell me _that_ was Caster?” he remained calm, trying his damnedest to hide the pure shock and disbelief in his tone. “Surely you realise how unlikely that i-”

There was a pause, before Miranda’s hands were gripping his collar, the look of sorrow still present, but twinned with something else; Hurt. 

“That boy is Caster, it _has_ to be...” she let him go, standing up on unsteady feet before taking a deep breath “I saw him, when I touched his shoulder the Echo called to me. I saw him...my husband...I saw _us_ as a family...gods Vulpec...what happened to him... ” they stood there in stunned silence for a moment. Vulpec rubbed his face lightly 

“It’s going to be one of those days again...” he said deflated. Just once he’d like to do something without getting pulled into something possibly dark, depressing or sinister. He looked back at Miranda with worry, then slid his hand in hers “we’ll get through this friend, we always do” there was reassurance in his words, but it did naught to soothe her.

They helped fix the table, and the other problems The young man that they were now naming as ‘Caster,’ had caused. Before walking slowly across the beech, taking notice of nothing but the sound of the sea, and the occasional seagull hunting for lunch. When they returned home, Miranda excused herself, and climbed the stairs to her room, and collapsed on her bed, exhausted and emotional. She let her eyes close, focusing on the chakra’s within her to guide her to a gentle meditation. She was going to find him, she was going to find what happened. 


End file.
